DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University women's basketball forward Paulina Afriyie has been named the NCCU Student-Athlete of the Month for January 2020 in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments on the court and in the classroom.
 
Afriyie averaged 14.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 assists and 0.5 steals per game in six January contests. She shot 53.2-percent from the field for the month and tallied two double-doubles.
 
The Eagles started MEAC play with a 66-57 home win over Florida A&M University with Afriyie leading NCCU with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. She was named MEAC Player of the Week for a second straight week after that triumphant performance.
 
Afriyie has accumulated a total of three MEAC Player of the Week awards and two Defensive Player of the Week awards heading into the final week of the regular season.
 
In a road game at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Afriyie logged another one of her 11 double-doubles on the season by scoring 16 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
 
Per the current NCAA Statistics Rankings, Afriyie leads the MEAC in made free throws (100); ranks second in both field goal percentage (52.4%) and double-doubles (11); ranks third in both points per game (14.6) and in rebounds per game (9.2); and ranks fourth in blocks per game (1.3).
 
The Bronx, New York, resident, is a 2018-19 All-MEAC honoree and a 2019-20 Preseason All-MEAC selection. Afriyie has earned NCCU team MVP twice and an NCCU Players Choice Award.
 
Afriyie is a biology and pre-med major at NCCU and she holds a cumulative 3.217 grade point average (GPA) midway through her senior year and has been selected to the MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team twice. After NCCU, Afriyie plans to join a physician assistant program and help those in underserved communities.
 
For a complete list of award winners, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.